The present invention relates to a method of detecting fraud or attempted fraud on a fluid meter. The invention also relates to apparatus for implementing the method.
A fluid meter 1 as shown in FIG. 1 generally comprises a first housing 2 provided with means for measuring a fluid flow rate, a second housing which forms a counter 5 mounted on the first housing and provided on its top portion 8 with display means 7 for displaying the quantity of fluid that has been consumed, and in its bottom portion with converter means 6 for converting the fluid flow rate into a quantity of fluid consumed.
It is known that meters can be made proof against certain types of fraud by improving certain mechanical characteristics of such meters, e.g. the ability of counters to withstand crushing. That solution is expensive since it requires additional material to be used so as to obtain greater strength.
It is also known to provide means that make it possible to identify that an attempt at fraud has been made, for example by using a visible indicator. Under certain conditions, that solution remains ineffective, in particular when the meter is not easily accessible or when the meter is read remotely by an automatic remote reading system which means that a human meter reader does not have the opportunity to observe the state of the meter.
The object of the invention is to avoid those drawbacks by proposing a method and apparatus for detecting fraud at low cost, that are easily adaptable to existing meters without it being necessary to modify their structure to any very great extent, and making it easy and reliable to detect fraud or attempted fraud.
This object is achieved by apparatus for detecting fraud on a meter, in particular a fluid meter comprising a meter body having means for measuring a fluid flow rate, a counter mounted on the meter body and provided in its top portion with means for displaying the quantity of fluid that has been consumed and in its bottom portion with converter means for converting the fluid flow rate into the quantity of fluid that has been consumed, and fraud indicator means associated with the top portion, a portion of said fraud indicator means that is visible from outside the counter being designed to become detached or to deform irreversibly relative to the top portion so as to block the operation of the converter means completely in the event of an attempted fraud on the meter.
In the method of detecting meter fraud when an attempt at fraud is made on the meter, in particular on a fluid meter, the method consists in: detaching or deforming a portion of the fraud indicator means of the top portion, said portion of the fraud means indicator means being visible from outside the counter and being caused to penetrate into the converter means in order to block the operation of said converter means.
Said portion of the fraud indicator means can be partially or totally detached when a top wall of the counter comes into contact with said portion of the fraud indicator means.
The invention presents the advantage that the index giving water consumption remains stuck on a value and can no longer move, so that the fluid supplier who re-reads the index is warned by the fact that consumption has not changed between two successive readings. Thus, the supplier can take appropriate measures for replacing the defective meter. The fact that the meter is blocked and that the index remains stuck is much more advantageous than a tampered meter which continues to meter consumption but which underestimates it since the time required to detect the fraud is much shorter for a blocked meter.
Another advantage is that the fraud indicator means serve not only as blocking means for preventing the counter from operating, but also as an indicator that reveals attempted fraud and that is visible from outside the counter.
Another advantage is that even if the mechanical action that is intended to tamper with the meter ceases (for example removal of the pliers that have been used for crushing the counter), the counter remains blocked in permanent manner.
The invention can be applied to water meters, to gas meters, and also to any fluid meter where a problem can arise that is similar to the problem set out in the present specification.